Efficient railway vehicle operation is strongly affected by railway infrastructure condition and other considerations across a railway network. A vehicle driver has to follow operational requirements or recommendations defined for different sections of track, and on occasions the driver has to pay special attention in specific locations due to e.g. track gradients reducing braking effectiveness, slippery rails, low visibility due to bad weather, temporary speed restrictions etc. This information can be considered as location-based, operation profile information.
Driver assistance systems (DAS) of known type can be used to provide driving speed recommendations to railway vehicle drivers, typically in order to improve vehicle operational efficiency. However, even with such systems there is a possibility of driver error if the driver does not follow the recommendations. Further such systems do not address wider issues of operational mistakes by drivers unrelated to vehicle operational efficiency.